North’s New All-star Coach

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Brittanee Grove who was an all-star softball player and currently a fourth grade teacher at Willard Elementary is the new softball coach of the upcoming season of 2017 for the North High Polar Bears.

Grove grew up in Runnels, Iowa, but graduated from Indianola High School. Once she graduated she moved on to play and attend at Creighton University for one year, University of Iowa for two years and lastly William Penn University for two years but redshirted a year due to an injury and surgery.

On August 22, 2012, who knew her life would change for a period of time.

In a memoir essay Grove wrote in college. She wrote, “So, with anger I forcefully tried to open my window, but instead of opening it, my hand went through the thin glass.”

Six months after the accident had happened, she didn’t have feeling in three of her fingers and the doctor had told her she wouldn’t be able to pitch again.

But she did not want to accept that news, Grove states in a college paper, “I wouldn’t accept that fate. I worked hard and changed my grip, and a year later I was back on the mound.”

After she recovered, not only did she pitch again but the next year she made first team All-American and hit 17 homeruns.

Throughout her life she has had two main role models, her mom and her dad.

“Both my mom and my dad are my role models. They have both taught me so much but they especially taught me how to never give up. When things get rough in life and don’t go my way, I can hear their voices telling me to keep on keeping on. I wouldn’t be where I am today without them. They taught me to never be satisfied with where I am and that I can always keep improving and getting better,” Grove said.

Grove has been playing the game since she was six years old and played her last game at the age of 23, playing about 17 years of softball.

“Since I was 10 years old I practiced every day. In the summer I would hit 300 balls off the pitching machine and pitch for an hour before I did anything like swimming or golfing. From there I continued to practice my way through high school. I played year round on a Kansas City softball team,” Grove said.

She decided to start coaching because she felt as if it was the only way she could get back in the softball community, and Grove has also been the assistant varsity softball coach for two years at Pleasantville.

While being an all-star player she spoke on her favorite moment while playing. “In college was when we won the MCC conference tournament and went onto Nationals. I also loved the feeling I got hitting each of my 17 homeruns. Nothing beats the feel of the ball hitting your bat on the sweet spot and sending it 200 feet over a fence.”

With being the new softball coach she plans on bringing her love for the sport and passion she has for it into North and “wants to bring her knowledge for the game into the program as well as my passion for always improving.”

Grove states these as her goals while being the coach at North. “We plan on getting better every day. My whole coaching philosophy is that you improve every day and you either get better or worse; you never stay the same. The more we improve the more fun we will have and winning will come.”